If there is one an area of the body that I receive a stack of questions about it is the hip and the glutes. Even people I work personally with each week in the gym this can be a challenging set of muscles to improve their strength and function. For such a massive group of muscles it can be amazingly lazy and frustrating to work with when it comes to strengthening exercises. Some of the exercises that work tremendously well with one person, either do nothing or create harm in the next person. A classic example of this is with piriformis syndrome or SIJ dysfunction where the weakness in the glutes is the main source of the pain. If you choose the wrong exercise, or do too much too soon, you will risk creating more pain as the glutes switch off and compensatory muscles take over. In this article, I am going to share with you a detailed analysis of 15 exercises explaining exactly the purpose of the exercise and who it is best to. I will also provide a video explanation of exercise so you can implement this in your training straight away.
Analyzing Pros & Cons Of 18 Different Glute Strengthening Exercises
The most important thing to remember when you try to strengthen the glutes is that YOU MUST USE SEVERAL EXERCISES using different angles, loads, tempos, and even equipment to guarantee it remains fully functionally strong.
The only other areas of the body I can probably relate this same problem with is serratus anterior with the shoulder, and the core with the trunk and spine.
In all these areas the body is vulnerable to weakness and dysfunction. Just using one exercise like the plank to strengthen the core would be pointless for it ignores the other roles it is responsible for.
More importantly the strength of one muscle does not guarantee better movement or reduce pain at a particular joint like the lower back or hip.
The more effective exercises for improved core stability and strength have a larger spread of activation. But these same exercises come with bigger risks and problems so you need other exercises to minimize these risks.
Over the years my toolbox of exercises to draw upon has increased significantly to help me either progress to something more challenging and effective, or regress to an exercise to restore stability and control. I do not have a rule book to follow, just a series of possibilities to explore, and I try to work through these one by one until I find the right place to start.
The 3 Roles Of The Glutes
The Gluteus Medius is a hip extensor, abductor, and external rotator while it also stabilizes the pelvis in the frontal plane.
There is three distinct heads of the gluteus medius muscle that perform a unique role as the body moves:
1. The posterior fibres – These fibres contract at early stance phase to lock the ball into the hip socket. The posterior fibres therefore essentially perform a stabilising or compressing function for the hip joint.
2. The middle/anterior fibres – These run in a vertical direction, help to initiate hip abduction, this is where the clam comes in which is then completed by a hip flexor muscle known as the TFL. The glutes work in tandem with TFL in stabilising the pelvis on the femur, to prevent the other side dropping down.
3. The anterior fibres – These allow the femur to internally rotate in relation to the hip joint at mid-to-end stance phase. This is essential for pelvic rotation, so that the opposite side leg can swing forward during gait. The anterior fibres perform this role with TFL.
What this means is that to truly strengthen the glutes you will need an exercise that performs ALL of these three key functions in order to restore optimal movement and strengthen correctly. Many of the isolated exercises will not address these different roles, so while you think have gained strength the muscle is still dysfunctional.
The best exercises to use for developing all three functions are the single leg varieties but these can come with serious difficulties and cause a lot of problems if used too early on. You have to build up to them.
Another thing to keep in mind when we talk about the glutes is that they are predominately fast twitch fibre muscles meaning that they are like sprinters. They are designed to do heavy and fast movements. Training with slow tempos and light loads all the time WILL NOT DEVELOP their strength to its full potential or enhance their function.
You must try to evolve this group of muscles to completing exercises with fast tempos.
As we go through the various exercises you will begin to see how this information is very important.
Don’t Forget To Address Hip Mobility & Foot Stability
Before we jump right into the exercises it is important you address any hip mobility restrictions first. Stiffness at the hip will inhibit your attempts to strengthen the glutes. This is known as muscle inhibition and is something I have covered several times in previous articles relating to posture and injury. In Vladimir Janda’s book “Assessment & Treatment of Muscle Imbalance” who first coined the terms tonic and phasic muscles he explains in great detail how muscle inhibition works.
- In simple terms tonic system muscles are prone to tightness or shortness and are more concerned with stability, posture, and working for long periods. They are made up mostly of slow twitch fibres and are easily facilitated with constant repetitive movements.
- On the other side is the phasic system muscles who are prone to weakness or inhibition and more concerned with fast and powerful movements. They are predominately fast twitch muscle fibres and require specific movement to keep them functional.
The tonic muscles by way of their design begin to develop a method of overworking and dominating all movements and in essence “shut down” or “steal” the phasic muscles workload completely. This creates an imbalance within the body as muscles like the piriformis which are not capable of performing various movements continue to work excessively eventually developing trigger points and tightness, while at the same time other muscles like the gluteus maximus are becoming weaker due to a lack of work.
This means that mobility and stability problems can exist at the same time.
The big mistake many people make is to try and work on the stability problems first before improving mobility. True functional stabilization will not be achieved while there is a mobility restriction present which is why you must address your mobility problems first.
Some good examples of hip mobility exercises are shown in the video below.
You can read more about ways to improve your hip mobility by reading this article –10 ways to improve your hip mobility
The other factor that is often missed but can play a big role in weakness of the glutes is poor foot stability. This is only seen in the standing movements but it is in these movements that compensation is created leading to weakness and eventually pain.
The floor based exercises will not have a requirement for foot stability which is where someone may demonstrate great gluteal control and strength, but the minute they stand up it seems to evaporate before your eyes. This is because the foot plays a key role in maintaining optimal alignment of the lower limb in order for the ankle, knee, and hip to function efficiently. If one is off, they are all off.
Watch the video below for a visual of how this works.
You will find tons of information about how to improve your foot stability in the article, exercise solutions for weak feet.
Now that you are working on your hip mobility and foot stability it is time to strengthen the glutes.
20 Exercises to Strengthen Your Glutes
The following exercises are ranked in order of easiest to hardest and I have provided a brief description of each exercise and a video of how to complete it correctly. To help you determine if it is the right exercise for you I have also provided a summary of what the purpose of each exercise would be and who it would be best suited to.
Each exercise has various strengths and weaknesses that you need to be aware of so you can choose the right exercise for your current situation. The more challenging the exercise is the more effective it is at changing your overall strength. However, it is also comes with more risk and can create more harm if not used wisely or too soon.
If you want to see a video with all these exercises put together in one video check it out below.
Let’s get started.
Horsestance (Bird-dog)
This first exercise is unique in that it can be both a regression and an advanced progression depending on how you use it. I would rate this as one of the best ways to enhance gluteal strength in combination with core stability. To get more out of the glutes I like to add a resistance band to the leg as shown in the video below.
Intensity rating: 5/10
What is the purpose of this exercise? To enhance core stability by improving hip extension without compensation from the lower back. The glutes will be forced into providing the strength for hip extension due to the unique prone position it works in.
Pros: Excellent way to build stability for people of all ages and injury.
Cons: Can be painful for some people to kneel. The body-weight version is too easy and will yield very minimal strength gains to make any major changes.
Who is this best suited to? A great exercise for anyone with hip and lower back problems. I use this successfully with many people suffering with bulging disc lower back pain, SIJ dysfunction, or piriformis syndrome.
I also use this a lot as a warm-up with sporting athletes and those with no pain for it is an excellent way to prepare the body for intense workouts and advanced movement.
Closed Clamshell
The closed clam shell improves hip centration by activating the hip flexors and abductors external rotators all at the same time. Quite an unusual exercise but can be effective in the beginning to learning better stabilization for the more complex movements to come.
I commonly use this with the person with severe hip pain who is unable to do most movements as it is a great way to try and improve hip centration by activating several of the smaller muscles of the posterior region of the hip with little risk or strength required.
Intensity rating: 2/10
What is the purpose of this exercise? To enhance stability of the hip joint with minimal risk of aggravating pain. It is a great regression for people to use when suffering with pain and a stepping stone to harder movement.
Pros: The unique position allows for more control to assist in stabilization.
Cons: Due to the low intensity it is not enough to make long lasting changes in standing movements.
Who is this best suited to? People with significant instability and hip pain.
Open Clamshell Exercise
The side lying clamshell exercise is one of the most prescribed exercises for people with weak glutes. Clamshells are a favourite exercise of most physical therapists and featured in nearly every group class as the best way to strengthen your gluteus medius muscle.
While the clamshell is intended to have good activation of the gluteal muscles there are several problems with this exercise you need to be aware of and I tend to treat this with great caution when working with injuries and severe weakness of the hip.
Intensity rating: 4/10
What is the purpose of this exercise? To strengthen the glutes with hip abduction.
Pros: This is a great way to teach someone “hip dissociation. This is where the person learns how to move their hip without any additional movement from the lumbar spine or body as we discussed earlier in compensatory mistakes. This is a very important lesson for a person with back pain to learn for it is common for them to use their core and lower back to sacrifice stability in order to move. If this exercise is taught well they can learn that they must tighten the core and ONLY move their hip in abduction.
Cons: The clamshell exercise while effective with hip abduction it ignores the other key functions the glute medius performs. It also can easily aggravate the hip if you have not addressed any mobility restrictions first. The hip flexor muscle tensor fascia latae (TFL) is often found to be dominant and hypertonic that will inhibit the glutes from firing. This means that many people who present with weak glutes and hip stability problems preferentially engage the TFL instead of stabilizing the hip using the Glut Medius.
•Who is this best suited to? People with weak glutes and can demonstrate good hip mobility and basic core control. It can be an excellent addition to a workout as a stepping stone to more difficult movements.
Side Lying Leg Raise
This is very similar to the open clamshell that we just discussed. The main difference is the leg is fully extended creating a longer lever and less control. If used wisely it can be a good addition to strength program but I very rarely, if ever use it. I don’t even have a video of it for I dislike it so much.
Intensity rating: 4/10
What is the purpose of this exercise? To strengthen the glutes with hip abduction.
Pros: It can target the gluteus medius very effectively if the foot is turned inwards towards the floor.
Cons: As with the clamshell exercise it does pose big problems to the TFL hip muscle and can easily aggravate the muscles if you do not address any mobility restrictions first. Secondly it is not a powerful enough exercise to make any lasting changes to functional movements where injuries and pain are often found.
Who is this best suited to? Those who find the standing exercises too difficult to complete but the previous glute exercises too easy.
Hip Extension (Bridge)
Possibly the easiest test to do is in the video below and we use this often for clients with severe hip or back pain in our initial assessment. It is common for the gluteal muscles to become lengthened (chronically stretched), reducing the tension in the range around hip extension. The bridge or hip extension targets your butt muscles very well in this position.
It is important to perform this exercise as a holding position because this mimics the stabilizing role of the gluteal muscles more closely. Building up the length of time you can position will improve strength-endurance of the gluteals in the inner range position. Be sure to keep breathing throughout. Check where you feel the contraction. If you feel it strongly in the hamstrings or lower back, the gluteals are not doing their share of the work. Focus on squeezing your butt harder to ensure most of the support is coming from them.
If you start to feel the exercise moving out of the gluteals into the hamstrings, and maybe even cramping the hamstrings, it’s time to rest, as this is a sign that your butt is fatigued. Do not push the hips up too far as this arches the lower back too much, so always make sure you keep your core braced to prevent this from happening.
Lastly ensure that your knees and feet remain steady in alignment, hip width apart!
What is it trying to achieve? Stabilize the hip by strengthening the glutes and hamstrings with the hip extension movement. The single leg variation shown above also helps to engage the core.
Pros: Very simple exercise to perform and effective at activating the glutes. A great way to assess hip stability and glute function.
Cons: It is not strenuous enough to make any long lasting changes to functional movements.
Who is this best suited to? Beginners and anyone suffering with hip or lower back pain.
Barbell Hip Thrust
This is the progression of the hip extension as it adds load to the movement.
An interesting concept found out during EMG studies by Bret Contreras in his book the “Glute Lab“, and something I did not know, is that the hip thrust activates the upper glutes to a much greater extent than squats, and even to a greater extent than deadlifts.
This does not necessarily mean it is better, it just means that if you are able to combine squats, deadlifts, and hip thrusts you will cover a greater area of the glutes. As opposed to only using standing exercises that may target the lower glutes well but miss out on the upper glutes.
Fatigue with hip thrusts is significantly reduced due mainly to the increased stability and horizontal position. This means you can push the glutes to the point of no return where they are burning so badly that they can’t complete another rep! Therefore, the hip thrust leads to greater fatigue of the fibres and greater intensity of effort for the glutes, and this fatigue is critical for maximal hypertrophic gains.
For these reasons, the glutes fire 1.5-3 times harder in a hip thrust compared to a squat.
Intensity Rating: 6/10
What is it trying to achieve? Strengthen the glutes and hamstrings with the hip extension movement by applying load.
Pros: Achieves the same results as the body-weight hip extension but now increases the strength requirement making it more useful to functional movement.
Cons: Ignores the role foot stability plays when you stand. Also ignores the other roles of the glutes as a hip abductor and stabilizer.
Who is this best suited to? People who can pass the hip extension test and require more intense training to strengthen the glutes. A great exercise as a regression from standing movements. This is similar to the horse-stance we discussed at the beginning, as it can be used across a wide range of people such as those with injury but also with sporting athletes for improved performance.
Standing Cable Hip Extension
This is the first time we are in a standing position and this changes everything. The demands on the body to stabilize when you stand are significantly greater than any of the previous exercises and this is where you can often see someone who crushes hip extensions and clams struggle to activate their glutes. To overcome this problem it is good to have an exercise that simplifies things and allows for greater control to assist the gradual progression to functional movement.
Intensity Rating: 4/10
Pros: Mimics the hip extension movement used in walking and can assist in developing glute strength. The stance leg also is required to provide some stability and strength.
Cons: It is not intense enough to make any long lasting changes. Compensation can creep into this quite easily if the person is not concentrating or does not possess core stability basics.
Who is this best suited to? People working with injury and rehabilitating a hip or back injury looking to progress to functional movement. Very helpful with SIJ pain and people with extension related back pain.
Crab Walk
Now that you are finally standing up to complete some exercises it is important to use something that is not too intense and provides a big bang for your buck.
The crab walk is a great choice for many beginners and those who have progressed to the standing stage. This is the standing progression of the lying clamshell we discussed earlier however, due to the standing position it gets the quadriceps and hamstrings involved into the movement while still heavily targeting the glute medius and glute maximus.
This exercise works best if you use small micro resistance bands around the legs to force the glutes to work harder to provide external rotation of the hip.
Intensity Rating: 5/10
Pros: Excellent way to encourage gluteal activation for beginners for if you make a mistake there is no consequence. Gives the person a real feel of the glutes working due to the fact it combines hip extension with external rotation.
Cons: Lacks the intensity to develop enough strength to overcome hip dysfunction.
Who is this best suited to? This is a perfect choice for those who lack control with the single leg exercises as a stepping stone to harder movements. It is also an excellent warm-up drill at the beginning of a workout for more advanced people.
Romanian Deadlift
Finally, we are up to the main exercises and the ones that make a big difference.
The RDL is arguably the most effective exercise for strengthening the posterior chain muscles of the glutes and hamstrings.
I prefer to teach people how to do the Romanian deadlift first to ensure correct hip mechanics and pelvic positioning before progressing to the serious loads of the traditional deadlifts and squats. When working with injury the Romanian deadlift is the preferred choice as it has several unique elements to the movement that help to align the hip and pelvis.
Anyone with knee pain will find this version works well, whereas the other movements may hurt their knee.
It differs to the other versions of the deadlift in that it is more concerned with bending from the top-down instead of from the bottom up! The person with mobility restrictions will often feel this as a massive hamstring stretch!
The RDL and especially the single leg RDL work perfectly to address many of the hip and pelvic problems like FAI and piriformis syndrome as they help to realign the femoral back deep into the glutes.
You can read more about this amazing exercise in the article – Why RDL’s are the best exercise for hip and back pain.
Intensity rating: 7/10
Pros: Extremely effective at strengthening the glutes in combination with a functional movement pattern used in daily life. Learning how to execute this movement correctly is a critical part of rehabilitation with back pain as the bending movement is in most cases the source of the pain.
Cons: It can be very difficult to learn and you may need to address hip mobility restrictions and core stability weakness before applying loads that make a significant difference. Also it does not build enough strength to handle hip instability with single leg stance.
Who is this best suited to? EVERYONE! Back pain and hip pain sufferers will benefit greatly from learning this movement and developing its strength to the full potential.
Trap-bar Deadlift
Once you have the RDL mastered it is time to start lifting bigger loads and how to lift from the bottom up!
This is where the legs will now be heavily involved and a key component of the lift. I will always start with a trap bar deadlift before a traditional bar deadlift for it provides the best leverage.
For a beginner it is all about perfecting the technique and movement and this version out of all the heavy lifts is the easiest.
Always remember the deadlift is all about minimizing any levers the weight can generate by keeping the load as close to you as possible. The trap bar is unique in that it allows you to stand effectively inside the bar! This is why it provides the best leverage and also why many can lift much bigger loads with this version.
Intensity Rating: 8/10
Pros: Excellent way to introduce heavy loads to strengthen the glutes with maximum leverage and minimized risk. In addition to the glutes this exercise builds tremendous core strength, grip strength, and a better understanding of how to lift heavy objects safely.
Cons: This can take some time to get used to and can only be safely used once mastery of the RDL is achieved. Considerable time learning how to brace the core is also required before heavy loads can be used. Some people this may not be the best choice as the risk to the spine may be too great and other exercises will be the better option.
Who is this best suited to? Anyone who has mastered the RDL. This works perfectly for people of all ages although considerable care must be taken with back pain sufferers and those with hip mobility restrictions.
Squats & Lunges
After you have built up your strength with your glutes using hip loaded movements of hip extensions and deadlifts you need to learn how to activate the glutes with other movements. Even though these are completely different movements I tend to lump them in the same group for the simple reason that they are more knee loaded than hip loaded as we have seen with the other exercises.
While the squat and the lunge are more known for strengthening the quadriceps muscles, they still demand incredible amount of strength from the glutes in order to execute the movement correctly.
With most people I prefer to strengthen these movements AFTER they have learned the deadlift. The squat in particular can be very difficult for most to master and especially those suffering with hip problems it can cause a lot of problems. Learning to mobilize the hip and strengthen it with hip loaded movements often makes the lunge and squat movements more efficient and easier to work with.
The squat technique shown below is the best way to teach the glutes and the core to be highly active.
The lunge variation I would prefer would be the walking lunge or the lateral lunge which you can see in the video below.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of these movements.
Intensity Rating: 8.5/10
Pros: Both squats and lunges are excellent exercises for developing your leg strength to their full potential and are essential for efficient movement in daily life and sports. If you are able to master these movements along with the deadlift you can safely say your glutes are working well.
Cons: The squat can be very difficult for those with hip pain, and both movements can be hard for anyone with knee pain due to the fact it loads the knee joint. Spending time to learn the correct technique is critical and addressing any mobility restrictions that compromise the movement a big part of the early stages. In terms of improving glute strength these exercises are not as effective as the deadlift of the upcoming single leg exercises.
Who is this best suited to? Everyone should be trying to progress to these movements.
Most of the time I would start with the lunge before trying to improve the squat.
Box Step-up
or what appears to be a very simple exercise the box step-up is quite demanding and can easily create a world of trouble for someone with weak glutes. The main difference with this exercise versus most others is that it starts at your weakest point. While the trap-bar deadlifts also start at the weakest point, they have one distinct advantage in that you have two feet on the ground. The instability of being on one leg and instantly having to fire up your leg muscles to propel you vertically is the reason so many people find this their most difficult exercise.
Any weakness or instability will be instantly revealed. The load placed upon the glutes to provide the power to stand up is immense. For this reason you must be very careful in using this exercise too soon as you can risk serious injury to the hip and even the lower back as this will be where you will see compensation. This particular movement is a real problem for people with SIJ dysfunction.
Intensity rating: 9/10
Pros: A fantastic way to develop strength and power with the glutes. It is also a very effective tool for measuring progress with the good leg versus the bad leg.
Cons: Due to the extreme forces required for this movement it can cause a lot of pain if used too early in the rehabilitation process or trained too often. Adjusting the height of the box to a height that is just right for each person can also be a problem if you do not have access to various boxes. Using a box too high for your mobility is guaranteed to cause problems.
Who is this best suited to? This particular exercise is great for people who play sports as it demands high amount of explosive power. It can be useful with rehabilitation but for most people that would be towards the end of their program once they have mastered all other movements.
Hip Airplane
The hip airplane is a great variation of the single leg Romanian deadlift exercise often used to improve glute strength and hip stability. All deadlift exercises are excellent choices for improving stability and strength of the hip joint but the RDL is far and away the best of all.
I tend to include the hip airplane and the single leg deadlift together for they are more or less the same thing.
The hip airplane is a bit easier as it is body-weight only and is the better choice to start with to improve stability of the foot and hip before adding the load with the single leg deadlift to enhance muscular strength.
In the video I show a slight variation of the normal RDL that adds a hip rotation to the movement. I also show you a way to regress the movement if you find it too difficult and also three ways to gradually progress this so you can continue to challenge the hip and also the foot. This is where I like to use resistance bands to create a reactive neuromuscular training activation (RNT) to enhance joint stability.
Single Leg Deadlift
I would say that this is arguably the best glute strengthening exercise for several reasons.
Firstly, it allows for greater control in that you are able to start at the top and lower your body down. As it is a hip loaded movement just like the Romanian Deadlift we discussed earlier it forces incredible amount of work into the posterior chain of the glutes and hamstrings. This makes it a great choice for the person with knee pain who finds squats, lunges, and step-ups too difficult to complete.
Secondly, for the first time the need of integrating foot stability with the hip is required. It is amazing to see how many people have cruised through all the previous exercises with two legs but now hit a massive stumbling block once they are forced to stand on one leg. The strength in their glutes is of no use to them the minute their feet do not stabilize the leg correctly in a single leg stance. They must learn how to coordinate these muscles together within a movement to make the changes they are looking for.
Lastly, it utilizes all three of the functions of the glutes which we discussed at the start of the article.
Up to this point there has been limited demand for stabilization the leg for you have had two legs on the floor all of the time. The step-up used the single leg stance, but this exercise allows you to use momentum and even a push-off from the foot on the ground to push through the sticking point. This exercise does not allow for this to occur forcing incredible amount of tension on the glutes and surrounding hip muscles to keep the leg aligned for moving. By adding the hip extension mechanism to the exercise it takes it right up a notch in terms of difficulty.
The strength you can gain from this exercise will exceed anything you can do with the two leg deadlifts! This is known as the bilateral limb deficit.
Intensity Rating: 9/10
Pros: This would be my number one exercise for treating hip pain, knee pain, and almost every type of lower limb injury. The fact it is also highly functional and relates to many everyday movements, even walking, and also many sporting activities makes it the ultimate glute strengthening exercise. This can be used with people of all ages and unlike the box step-up it is easily modified if the person finds it too hard.
Cons: Due to the high demands of stability it can be very hard to learn. You may need to spend considerable time building up to this with easier exercises and a strong focus on balance and core stability before making it about strength.
Who is this best suited to? EVERYONE! There is not a single person who would not benefit from becoming great at this movement.
Single Leg Squat
You might be thinking this is the same exercise as the single leg deadlift. While they do look very similar they have one major difference that makes this slightly harder in that you need a fair degree of knee stability and quadriceps strength in addition to everything from the single leg deadlift.
This one movement can very easily reveal stability and mobility weaknesses in your body.
This is a quick summary of all the things that must happen simultaneously for this movement to be completed correctly.
1.Foot must provide stability
2.Ankle must provide mobility
3.Knee must provide stability
4.Hips must provide mobility
5.Glutes must activate to ensure correct alignment of the lower limb
6.Thoracic spine must remain in extension
7.Brain must coordinate perfect timing of all these muscles and joints
For these reasons I like to use a single leg squat as an assessment tool for it helps me to identify areas of weakness or stiffness that I may need to work on. You can read more about how I do this in the article – How to use the single leg squat as an assessment tool.
Intensity rating: 9.5/10
Pros: If you can perform this movement correctly and able to apply load you are one giant step forward to becoming bulletproof to injury. The amount of stability and strength needed to master this exercise is why it is so good at preventing so many of the injuries and weaknesses we commonly see at various joints of the body.
Cons: Due to the complexity and high degree of stability and strength it is a very advanced exercise that will take considerable time to master. Many mistakes will be made when learning this so it is critical you use all the exercises shown before this to assist you in making this easier.
Who is this best suited to? While this is a great exercise I do recognize that it is too difficult for many people to do. The single leg deadlift combined with bilateral squats for quadriceps strength may be a much safer and effective way to get the best of both worlds.
However, if you play sports this exercise is ESSENTIAL as it mimics the very movement most injuries in sports will occur. For this reason I would say this exercise is best suited to the sporting athlete.
Backward Step Hip-Hinge For Glute Max
Anyone who has suffered with a hip or back problem linked to a weakness with the glutes will know how hard it can be to get the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius to work together effectively. The glute max is very prone to weakness and the glute medius tends to do the exact opposite and overwork! Many of the best exercises favour the glute medius and if it is worked excessively hard it can lead to severe back pain and tightness in the QL.
This exercise works really well by applying a resistance band to combine two types of hip extension within a single movement. It is this movement that the glute medius usually tries to take over, but using the band on the second part of the movement helps to engage the glute maximus more effectively and therefor preventing the problem often associated with glute exercises.
This method is called reactive neuromuscular training or RNT for short and I have featured many exercises for the knee and shoulder on this channel before. This is where a small amount of resistance is applied to a faulty movement that “feed the mistake” and therefor forces the body to make a correction. This can be a very frustrating phase to work through but extremely rewarding if you spend the time to work through it.
Intensity rating: 9/10
Pros: Great way to get the lazy glute max to fire up and a better choice than the single leg varieties when the person is too weak to do them.
Cons: Due to the coordination demands it is a very advanced exercise that will take considerable time to master. Also the fast timing takes a bit to get used to.
Who is this best suited to? This is a great transtion exercise to get from two legs to single leg. I tend to think of this as 1.5 legs as it is really neither two leg or one leg.
Walking Deadlift
This is an interesting exercise that I used a long time ago and kind of forgot about it. This is one of those exercises that requires incredible timing and coordination in order to get it right which is one of the main reasons I stopped using it years ago for many people found it too difficult to get right.
However, recently I was using this myself as for the past few years I had trouble with my right hip and wanted to use some more dynamic exercises to get myself back to where I was. Almost immediately I could feel how useful this exercise was to my body so I continued using it and decided to try and teach a few people how to do it again. Hence, my reason for making this video is so I could have something for them to watch and learn how to get it right as it can be a bit frustrating if your coordination is not great.
Intensity rating: 9/10
Pros: This increases the glute max activation by including a rotational element and also the faster timing that the exercise demands.
Cons: Once again a high degree of coordination is required making it difficult to learn and considerable time to master. Also the fast timing takes a bit to get used to.
Who is this best suited to? This is another great transtion exercise to get from two legs to single leg. I tend to think of this as 1.5 legs as it is really neither two leg or one leg. Great for all people to progress to.
Single Cable Pull with Backward Step (Posterior Sling Strength)
The posterior sling is where the glute max of one hip works with the latissimus dorsi of the opposing side to create tension in the lower back region called the thoracolumbar fascia.
The action of these muscles along with the fascial system is to prevent rotation of the pelvis when we walk and enable you to store energy to create more efficient movement. Most of the exercises that use this sling are pulling movements.
The first version is just stationary but the following variations move to a weight shift, a lunge, a single leg deadlift, and lastly a fast version of all of the above. To learn this effectively it is best to do this in the order that they are shown.
The version I am referring to is shown at the 5:00 mark of the video below, however all the versions shown in this video are good to use.
Intensity rating: 9.5/10
Pros: This increases the glute max activation by including a rotational element and also the faster timing that the exercise demands.
Cons: Once again a high degree of coordination is required making it difficult to learn and considerable time to master. Also the fast timing takes a bit to get used to.
Who is this best suited to? This is great for all people to progress to for it shares the exact timing of walking and running. This exercise helps tie all the previous ones together it is that good.
Do You Need More Help?
Before jumping straight into a corrective program make sure you have seen a qualified Health professional for an accurate diagnosis and assessment of your condition. I cannot stress this enough as self-diagnosing can potentially lead to more problems. We often refer out to Doctors, Chiropractors, and Physiotherapists before implementing our program to know exactly what we are dealing with. Being certain on where to start is crucial to the success of the program.
If you have seen a health professional and are now looking at implementing a series of exercises and stretches this article will provide you with many great ideas on how to do this. As many people struggle to implement this into a gradual progression I created a detailed step by step program for both back pain and hip problems associated with piriformis syndrome. These include a 85 page PDF report 60-90 minute video with exercises, stretches, mobilizations and in an easy to follow format. This can be done at home or in the gym and we cover everything about your condition in great detail from eliminating the cause to best strength exercises, even nutrition to speed up the healing process!
Click here to go to the online shop or on the image below to get a copy.
Summary
Wow!
That was a lot of information and I am sure you would agree there is a lot more to the glutes than doing a few clamshell exercises or bridges. The more functional the exercise becomes the more beneficial it is to your body and the easier it is to gain strength with all of the gluteal muscles.
While some of the isolated exercises may target a specific muscle more effectively, these exercises will do very little to change how your body uses the glutes when you stand up. Also you cannot ignore the role of the feet in providing adequate hip control and stability providing another reason why you should progress to standing movements to improve your overall strength.
I hope this article has given you a better insight into how to structure your strength workouts to use the most effective glute strength exercise for your current situation, and also be able to know what is the progression or next step forwards in your program.
About The Author
Barefoot Strong – By Dr Emily Splichal
Whole Body Barefoot – By Katy Bowman
Glute Lab – By Bret Contreras
The Vital Glutes – By John Gibbons
Movement – By Gray Cook
The Psoas Solution – By Evan Osar
Corrective Exercise Solutions For The Hip & Shoulder – by Evan Osar
Diagnosis & Treatment Of Movement Impairment Syndromes – By Shirley Sahrman
Assessment & Treatment Of Muscle Imbalance – By Vladimir Janda